Delivery systems and positioning and anchoring devices are currently being used in medical procedures to guide and position devices from a remote site to a target site within a body. From a remote part of the body, a guidewire is introduced into an artery or vein. The guidewire is then advanced through the vascular system to the target site where the vascular implant is to be positioned. The guidewire then functions as a rail for the advancement of the delivery system.
Currently, delivery systems are used for accessing the anatomy and delivering many devices, both temporarily and permanently, into the body. Different devices and different anatomical target sites require different delivery system features and require different anchoring and positioning mechanisms. For example, a target vascular site is the right pulmonary artery and middle lobe vessel. There are often many turns and anatomical structures to navigate around and through to reach the desired site. If the delivery system or the positioning/anchoring mechanism for the delivery system lack certain critical features, the procedure may not be able to be performed. For example if the anatomy is quite tortuous and if the delivery system is not able to negotiate this tortuous anatomy the procedure may not be possible. As another example, there may not exist a specific delivery system designed and built for the specific implant and target anatomy; in these cases the physician is left to select generally available off-the-shelf accessories such as sheaths and wires to deliver the implant as best he or she can.
As can be appreciated from the above examples, multiple features are required to achieve desired parameters such as softness to reduce trauma to the vessel during insertion, minimal diameter to enable ingress through restricted passages in the vessels and facilitate access to the target site, stiffness/rigidity to allow pushability and resistance to kinking and to facilitate function of the delivery system once placed. Relative to the implant positioning and anchoring mechanism, it is critical to position the implant for optimal visualization, readability, and to reduce the risk of possible occlusion and/or or flow obstruction.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a delivery system which facilitates delivery of a specific implant by providing optimal diameter, pushability, flexibility and stiffness without requiring additional accessory devices, thereby reducing or eliminating the risk of unsuccessful implant delivery. It would further be advantageous to provide adequate flow around the implant in the target location and the atraumatic positioning and anchoring mechanism needs to maintain the position of the implant, without risk of structural failure or partial disintegration, over the life of the patient.